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The Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) has released the findings of its Broadcast India (BI) 2018 Survey, based on a sample study of 300, 000 homes in the country. As per the latest, BI 2018 Survey, TV homes in the country have seen a 7.5 per cent jump, outpacing the growth of homes in India which grew at 4.5 per cent. India currently boasts of 298 million homes, of which 197 million have a TV set, having an opportunity of almost 100mn more TV homes in the country.

Two big takeaways from BI 2018 survey is the rise of the middle class and the increase in the number of flat screen TVs. As per the survey, with 123 million TV homes belonging to the Middle Class, NCCS (new consumer classification system) B and C account for 63 per cent of TV homes in India. Together NCCS ABC or the affluent TV-owning homes form 84 per cent of TV homes in the country. Homes falling under the low-socioeconomic class (NCCS D/E) have seen a 13 per cent drop.

“With BI 2018 we have been able to showcase the changing face of India. However, what hasn’t changed is the fact that TV remains the most effective platform for both content creators and advertisers to reach their audiences.

This years’ Survey is also special to us since we have been able to bring it in-house. We have been investing heavily in technology and talent and moving this almost entirely in-house is a proof of our capabilities. As for the trends, BARC India has maintained that India is a country which is driven by family viewing and this shows in the increase in the number of TV households. With a penetration of just 66%, there is still a huge scope of growth in the space,” said Partho Dasgupta, CEO, BARC India.

Number of TV viewing individuals grew by 7.2% to 836 million from the previous 780 million.

TV homes in Urban and Rural India grew by 4% and 10% respectively.

The Average Time Spent by TV viewing individuals too has seen a 3% growth and currently stands at 3 hour 44 minutes. This is driven by Urban which has seen an increase of 5% in ATS (4 hour 06 min), ATS in Rural India has grown by 2% and stands at 3 hour 27 minutes.

Both HSM and South markets have seen a spike in viewership. HSM saw an increase of 12%, while South grew by 10% in week 29.